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Earth Science

This is an archived copy of the 2021-2022 catalog. To access the most recent version of the catalog, please visit http://catalog.iastate.edu.

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Earth Science

The Earth Science major is a program leading to the bachelor of arts or bachelor of science.

The bachelor of arts emphasizes an interdisciplinary field and prepares the student primarily for a career in secondary education. Apart from the required and supporting coursework listed below, the B.A. program must satisfy the requirements of the Teacher Education Program. The B.S. program provides a broad overview of geology and supporting sciences. This degree pathway is also suitable for students who may want to pursue a career in secondary education or continue on to graduate school. If a student choses this option and is interested in secondary education, they should contact Dr. Cinzia Cervato for additional guidance.

Required courses for the B.A. include:

GEOL 100How the Earth Works3
or GEOL 101 Environmental Geology: Earth in Crisis
GEOL 100LHow the Earth Works: Laboratory1
GEOL 102History of the Earth3
GEOL 102LHistory of the Earth: Laboratory1
GEOL 302Summer Field Studies6
GEOL 315Mineralogy and Earth Materials3
GEOL 315LLaboratory in Mineralogy and Earth Materials1
GEOL 316Optical Mineralogy1
GEOL 356Structural Geology and Tectonics4
GEOL 357Geological Mapping and Field Methods1
GEOL 365Igneous and Metamorphic Petrology3
GEOL 368Sedimentary Geology4
MTEOR 206Introduction to Weather and Climate3
ASTRO 120The Sky and the Solar System3
ASTRO 150Stars, Galaxies, and Cosmology3
And 3 credits of geology electives3
Total Credits43

Required supporting courses include:

CHEM 177General Chemistry I4
CHEM 177LLaboratory in General Chemistry I1
CHEM 178General Chemistry II3
CHEM 178LLaboratory in College Chemistry II1
PHYS 111General Physics5
PHYS 112General Physics5
One of the following
MATH 151Calculus for Business and Social Sciences3
or MATH 160 Survey of Calculus
or MATH 165 Calculus I
One of the following
STAT 101Principles of Statistics4
or STAT 104 Introduction to Statistics
And one course in Biology, Botany, or Zoology3
Total Credits29

Communication Proficiency requirement: According to the university-wide Communication Proficiency Grade Requirement, students must demonstrate their communication proficiency by earning a grade of C or better in ENGL 250. The department requires a grade of C or better in ENGL 309 or ENGL 314.

ENGL 150Critical Thinking and Communication3
ENGL 250Written, Oral, Visual, and Electronic Composition3
or ENGL 250H Written, Oral, Visual, and Electronic Composition: Honors
One of the following:
ENGL 309Proposal and Report Writing3
or ENGL 314 Technical Communication
Total Credits9

 
Required courses for the B.S. include:

GEOL 100How the Earth Works3
or GEOL 101 Environmental Geology: Earth in Crisis
GEOL 100LHow the Earth Works: Laboratory1
GEOL 102History of the Earth3
GEOL 102LHistory of the Earth: Laboratory1
GEOL 302Summer Field Studies6
GEOL 315Mineralogy and Earth Materials3
GEOL 315LLaboratory in Mineralogy and Earth Materials1
GEOL 316Optical Mineralogy1
GEOL 356Structural Geology and Tectonics4
GEOL 357Geological Mapping and Field Methods1
GEOL 365Igneous and Metamorphic Petrology3
GEOL 368Sedimentary Geology4
GEOL 479Surficial Processes3
MTEOR 206Introduction to Weather and Climate3
And 8 credits of electives in agronomy, astronomy, environmental science, or other approved areas.8
Total Credits45

Required supporting courses include:

CHEM 177General Chemistry I4
CHEM 177LLaboratory in General Chemistry I1
CHEM 178General Chemistry II3
CHEM 178LLaboratory in College Chemistry II1
MATH 165Calculus I4
MATH 166Calculus II4
PHYS 111General Physics5
PHYS 112General Physics5
STAT 101Principles of Statistics3-4
or STAT 104 Introduction to Statistics
Total Credits30-31

Communication Proficiency requirement: According to the university-wide Communication Proficiency Grade Requirement, students must demonstrate their communication proficiency by earning a grade of C or better in ENGL 250. The department requires a grade of C or better in the below communication courses.

ENGL 150Critical Thinking and Communication3
ENGL 309Proposal and Report Writing3
or ENGL 314 Technical Communication
or ENGL 302 Business Communication
or JL MC 347 Science Communication
Total Credits6

Earth Science, B.A.

NOTE: Course plan, sequence and credit amounts will vary depending upon which endorsement area(s) a student chooses to pursue. In addition, this plan is solely an example of one possible academic layout. This plan can and likely will be modified based on transfer credit, advanced placement (AP) credit, dual enrollment credit, "test out" credit, course offerings, schedule conflicts and entry term. It is our expectation that students know the requirements of their academic program and develop and follow an academic plan based on their academic catalog and degree audit using their individual academic advisor as a resource in this process.

Potential pathway for the B.A. in Earth Science degree:

Freshman
FallCreditsSpringCreditsSummerCredits
ENGL 1503EDUC 2043PSYCH 230 (social science)3
LIB 1601GEOL 1023Social Science Option13
GEOL 1003GEOL 102L1 
GEOL 100L1GEOL 1131 
CHEM 1774CHEM 1783 
CHEM 177L1CHEM 178L1 
MATH 151, 160, or 1653-4ASTRO 1203 
GEOL 1121MTEOR 2063 
 Praxis Core  
 17-18 18 6
Sophomore
FallCreditsSpringCreditsSummerCredits
ENGL 2503GEOL 3653Humanities Option13
EDUC 203X1PHYS 1125 
PHYS 1115EDUC 333 (social science)3 
GEOL 3153Humanities Option 13 
GEOL 315L1ASTRO 1503 
GEOL 3161  
EDUC 280L0.5  
EDUC 2191  
Apply/Accepted to Educator Preparation Program   
 15.5 17 3
Junior
FallCreditsSpringCreditsSummerCredits
EDUC 303X1ENGL 302, 309, 314, or JL MC 3473GEOL 3026
EDUC 3473EDUC 4193 
EDUC 4183EDUC 480J2 
EDUC 280A1-2COMST 211, SP CM 212, or THTRE 3583 
GEOL 3571STAT 101 or 1043-4 
GEOL 3684GEOL 3564 
HIST 280 or 281 (humanities)3  
 16-17 18-19 6
Senior
FallCreditsSpringCredits 
Geology Option13EDUC 417J16 
Humanities Option13PPAT  
SP ED 4013  
EDUC 403X1  
EDUC 4063  
Social Science Option13  
Biology Option13  
Apply to student teach   
Praxis Subject Assessment   
Apply for graduation   
 19 16

Earth Science, B.S.

Potential pathway for the B.S. in Earth Science degree:

Freshman
FallCreditsSpringCredits 
ENGL 1503GEOL 1023 
GEOL 100 or 1013GEOL 102L1 
GEOL 100L1CHEM 1783 
CHEM 1774CHEM 178L1 
CHEM 177L1MATH 1664 
MATH 1654Arts-and-Humanities Choice3 
LIB 1601  
 17 15
Sophomore
FallCreditsSpringCredits 
ENGL 2503GEOL 3653 
GEOL 3153Arts-and-Humanities Choice3 
GEOL 315L1PHYS 1125 
GEOL 3161STAT 101 or 1043-4 
PHYS 1115MTEOR 2063 
 13 17-18
Junior
FallCreditsSpringCreditsSummerCredits
GEOL 4793GEOL 3564GEOL 3026
GEOL 3684World Language3-4 
Agron/Astronomy/EnSci Choice13Agron/Astronomy/EnSci Choice13 
World Language3-4Social-Science Choice3 
GEOL 3571  
 14-15 13-14 6
Senior
FallCreditsSpringCredits 
Agron/Astronomy/EnSci Choice12Electives9 
Arts-and-Humanities Choice3Arts-and-Humanities Choice3 
Social Science Choice3Social-Science Choice3 
ENGL 309 or 302 or 314 or JL MC 3473  
Elective3-4  
 14-15 15